Abstract:
This investigation was a step towards creating awareness about reasons as to why, in spite of availability of
ART drugs, the rate of adherence is still low, and there are various cases of non-adherence. This has increased the rate
of transmitting opportunistic infections such as diarrhea, whooping cough, Tuberculosis, and related infections that make
use of opportunity of weakened immunity in the body. The study was at Namungalwe Health Center IV, in Iganga District.
The study comprised a sample of 63 out of 90 respondents categorized into; midwives, clinicians, expert clients, and HIV
infected adolescents. A questionnaire structured into items explaining non-adherence was set-up and distributed to
respondents in the various categories to generate results. Analysis was done using principal component analysis to extract
significant factors. The validity of study was determined through pre-survey tests using three experts who cross checked
questions set with study objectives and recommended the most appropriate questions. On the other hand, reliability was
determined using the Crombach Alpha Model, results of which indicated that socio-demographic factors measured 0.796
for 9 items, and health facility related factors measuring 0.831 for 28 items. The study used stratified sampling to
categorize respondents by gender and designation, and simple random sampling techniques to select individual
respondents from each category. Results indicated that socio-demographic factors such as sex, age, education level,
nature of caretaker, distance to health facility, and time of diagnosis, reason to go for HIV testing, time of starting
treatment, and feeling of patients during treatment predict non-adherence to ART among adolescents. In addition, Facility
related factors influence non-adherence to ART among adolescents.
